


Eyes On Me

by Finnthebunneh



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Daichi isn't oblivious he's just having a hard time figuring this whole thing, First Meetings, Fluff, Kenma's ears are roting from hearing Kuroo's pinning, Kuroo can't seem to leave Daichi's side for even 0.1 sec, Kuroo fell for Daichi from the very beginning, M/M, Sexual Tension, a lot of hugging, soulmate dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25474987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finnthebunneh/pseuds/Finnthebunneh
Summary: No one could predict it, nor understand how it worked, when it started or the frequency of those dreams. What people did know— and the only two things they had ever known about those dreams— was they will notice that one stranger will often appear in their dreams, and they will never be able to see that person's eyes for their sight will blur when they shall attempt to do so.Daichi unconsciously assumed that he would never have any soulmate dreams, he was simply happy and content living day after day. That is, until the day he noticed a black-haired man be part of his dreams more and more often."That doesn't mean anything," Daichi said; but was it really, when he started to look forward to meet that man at night, and feelings unintentionally bloomed, becoming stronger and stronger as time passed?
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi
Comments: 45
Kudos: 233





	1. Chapter 1

Dreams were a strange yet fascinating concept. People would dream about the most casual things such as sitting under a tree and gaze at the horizon to something more exciting like exploring a fantasy land and fighting against mythical creatures. 

They said dreams were a series of unimportant events taking place when one was asleep while others said dreams projected one's strong emotions or troubled thoughts that overwhelmed them during the day, making them live through it in another reality at night. However, there was a type of dream that hid quietly among the many varieties, subtly hinting its meaning without revealing itself. 

No one could predict it, nor understand how it worked, when it started or the frequency of those dreams. What people did know— and the only two things they had ever known about those dreams— was they will notice that one stranger will often appear in their dreams, and they will never be able to see that person's eyes for their sight will blur when they shall attempt to do so. 

As time passed, the same rules stayed the same, only that rumors spread about the possibility that those who had those dreams did end up meeting the stranger who was constantly featured in it, and fell in love. 

For that very same reason, people called those dreams “The soulmate dreams”.

* * *

Daichi never paid much attention to his dreams. Just like everyone, he had an assortment of dreams for as far as he could remember: heading toward a castle with a wooden sword along with a few elves as allies, running in a field with his grandparent's shiba inu, trying to find the exit of a haunted house with Asahi and Suga, losing his mind at some realistically-impossible nonsense Tanaka and Noya had come up with and influencing Hinata to join them, eating a bowl of ramen and gaining five hundred pounds, Daichi's dreams were never monotonous. 

While students headed back home after classes had ended, Daichi would head to the gym with Asahi and Suga, all of them excited for another day where they could play volleyball together along with those they appreciated. Once club activities were done and Daichi reached home, his mind would shut off the moment his head rested on his pillow. 

Years passed and it was only in his third year of high school that Daichi started to notice a man who looked about his age be part of his dreams more frequently. 

Thinking back, the first dream Daichi recalled where the man made his first appearance was when they were sitting outside of a kombini with a few friends, everyone laughing about something. There were faces Daichi recognized, faces that if lucid, he'd say they didn't exactly look like his friends while others were blurred and were total strangers to him. Among the group, there was one man that despite having the upper half of his face blurred, made Daichi feel something warm deep within him that he wasn't able to tell at that time.

The second dream happened a week later with Daichi walking alone in the woods, admiring the colours of the birch trees and how despite the bark of their white trunks peeling away, their branches still reached toward the sky, sunlight slipping through the oily leaves and casting dynamic shades on the pebbled road. 

The same strange but familiar feeling suddenly rushed through him when a man ran past him. As his figure faded in the distance, Daichi noticed the long limbs and the black sneakers as black as his hair dancing in motion. Daichi didn't give it much thought and continued his walk as he enjoyed the quietness and the nice weather. 

Pebbled track ended with a small clearing where the sound of a flowing current caught his attention. Moving toward the sound, Daichi pushed a bulky bush away from his face, revealing a tranquil stream contained by a trail of small boulders. Water sparked under the sunlight's touch and chestnut-coloured eyes gawked at the view when droplets of water danced in the air and shined, dragging Daichi's attention away. The man was sitting on a large builder, black shorts rolled over his thighs, long legs soaking in the water. His chin was lifted to the sky, Daichi assumed he was enjoying the same quietness and the warmth of the sun. 

As if sensing another person's presence, the man turned his head toward Daichi, and although Daichi couldn't see his eyes, he saw the little surprised look on him with how his lips parted agape before shutting them and curving into a smile.

Third one happened two weeks later, Daichi being surrounded by friends he didn't recognize, everyone being excited about something Daichi couldn't figure out despite sharing the same feeling. The black-haired man was sitting right next to him, his unique funny laugh reaching clear and loud into Daichi's heart, his large shoulders bumping his at moments or his head resting on it for a little while, dark soft strands brushing his neck. Daichi couldn't be certain since he was unable to see that person's eyes, but he swore from the feeling he was getting that the black-haired man had been stealing glances at him more than once and pretended to turn his head elsewhere when Daichi craned his neck in his direction.

Fourth one was near a shrine, both sitting near a pond watching koi fishes swimming in it quietly. Daichi was telling something with enthusiasm, hands resting on the flat surface of the builder he was sitting on, the lanky man listening with care and with what looked like a smirk revealed on his face.

Windchimes sang when a gentle breeze passed through, filling the silence that settled between them and upon feeling a fleeting touch on his finger, Daichi tilted his head toward it. A long and lean pinky finger was timidly hooking Daichi's, unsure, but wanting to stay. 

It blurred when Daichi tried to see what expression the man was wearing, but the faint hue of pink dusted across his cheeks contrasted nicely among the refreshing green from the bamboo groves surrounding them, and the small smile that hinted nervousness looked lovely in Daichi's eyes. 

Seeing Daichi not push him away, the pinky finger held his just a tad tighter while his index and middle finger gently stroked the surface of Daichi's hand.

That morning, Daichi woke up with a gentle morning sunlight caressing his face. Instead of getting up right away, he sat up on his bed and replayed his last dream and every other in which the stranger was featured in his mind. A curious feeling bubbled inside of him. 

Nothing happened much in his dreams if compared to the ones he had back when he was younger, dreaming about going into adventures and fulfilling quests. However, there was an unexplainable excitement in the ones he had been having lately and strangely, it always made Daichi's heart feel a little fluffy. It was as if he had made a new friend, yet there was also something more with this person; something more... _intimate_ , if compared to his relationship with Suga and Asahi.

Not pushing his thoughts further into analysis, Daichi slowly became more aware of the man's presence in his dreams. He would unconsciously hope and subtly seek his presence in every dream and wake up with a little pout on times when the man didn't show himself that night. 

They never did anything grandiose in his dreams, but there was just something in him that made Daichi look forward to meeting him again and again every night.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone had soulmate dreams whether they were aware of it or not. 

Some were clever at figuring out, like Oikawa and iwaizumi who often held hands in their dreams and one single look at the other one's hand was able to confirm it all; others were more evident, like Mattsun remembering Tendou's unusual red hair and Tendou noticing the discreet mole on the shell of Mattsun's left ear. 

Some were gentler, like Akaashi getting a familiar and loving feeling whenever he was wrapped inside his soulmate's embrace and immediately recognized it when Bokuto pulled him into his arms when they successfully achieved fifty consecutive cross-spikes; others were slower, like Hinata constantly telling everyone that Kageyama and a quiet blond-haired guy were in his dreams, but didn't realize what his dreams were hinting at him.

And then there was Daichi. 

“I'm telling you, Daichi, _that's your soulmate_!” Suga said excitedly for the upteenth time as he gripped Daichi's shoulders and shook them, eyes shining and expectant. 

“But how can you be so sure?” Daichi was skeptical, a hand resting on the hard surface of the bench he was seated to stabilize himself from falling behind. “He only appeared a few times, but that doesn't mean anything.”

Daichi had heard of soulmate dreams, but he never thought— never considered— that one day he would be having them; some people would never have soulmate dreams at all throughout their lifetime and somehow, Daichi was okay with it if it should happen to him. And yet, one thing led to another and there he was, discussing soulmate dreams with his closest friends during their lunch break. 

They were _dreams_ indeed, but they weren't just like any other dream: they revealed their loved one, the one they will fall in love with and spend their forever together and it never once crossed Daichi's mind that he could have been dreaming about his soulmate after all this time. 

If that man was indeed Daichi's destined one, he wondered how his soulmate would ever find him or realize it was him because Daichi knew how _ordinary_ he looked. He had short brown hair that was probably hard to even see if his soulmate's dream about him were also limited from his nose and below; his voice was deep and plain, and if asked Daichi's honest opinion about himself, he'd say he wasn't particularly tall nor attractive in any way. 

And he wondered the same thing about his soulmate, how would he recognize them with the little hints he obtained. He knew his soulmate was a man who looked like his age with a few inches taller than him with long lean limbs. He had soft black hair, gorgeous hands with knotty knuckles and a very particular laugh despite the annoying smirk.

That was all Daichi knew about his looks.

However, that wasn't _everything_ Daichi knew about that soulmate of his. 

“It's the feeling you get when you meet them.”

Suga and Asahi lifted their gaze to look at Tanaka munching his sandwich before raising a hand up to pull at his hoodie stuck under his jacket so he could cover his neck from the cool breeze. 

“I thought the same thing as you, Daichi-san.” Focused on trying to figure out that one unrecognized ingredient stuck between his tomato slices while fiddling with the wrapper, Tanaka didn't see the three pairs of eyes staring at him. “I even thought that maybe when my soulmate would figure out it was me, they would choose to not show up in front of me because of my personality.”

Suga squinted his eyes. “What's wrong with your personality?” 

“Well, you know… getting pissed off easily, getting way too fired up at little things and shouting… hey!” Seeing his senpais nodding in approval and Suga smirking at him, Tanaka clicked his tongue in embarrassment before stuffing his mouth to shut himself up. 

“You were concerned that your soulmate would choose to avoid you after seeing you?” Asahi inquired with curiosity, for no one would expect Tanaka to think that way. The boy was a force of nature, strong-willed and caring in his own way. 

Tanaka swallowed his mouthful and the next instant, a soft smile appeared on his face. “But they didn't.” Lowering his arms to rest them on his crossed legs, the usually strong brown eyes were tender and so loving, no one had ever seen Tanaka wear such a gentle expression. “When I first met Kiyoko-san, I had a very familiar feeling overwhelm me, but I didn't realize she was the one. It bothered me why I was feeling excited without any reason upon meeting her and it was almost a year later when Kiyoko-san confessed that she was indeed my soulmate that everything rushed back to me: I remembered in my dreams with the way she'd clench her hand when she's shy, how her voice softens when she says 'Ryu' and the gentle smiles she gave me.”

“Basically you were just 'a little' slow, huh?” Suga sneered, but his brown eyes were tender, just like the smile revealed on his face.

Tanaka only stuffed his mouth again and nodded in resignation, his cheeks revealing a faint hue of pink while crumbling the wrapper into a ball. “So, don't worry too much about it, Daichi-san. You'll know it when you meet your soulmate in real time. As for your dreams, I'd say if you're feeling nice and at ease with that person, then why question it further?”

An arm wrapped in a comfy jacket hung around Tanaka's neck and pulled him down so a hand could pet his bald head vigorously. 

“Never thought one day I'd witness Tanaka say something this heartfelt,” Suga cried out playfully with a grin and Daichi could tell how proud Suga was feeling for his kouhai. “And take this! This is for meeting your soulmate earlier than me; moreover, for them to be no other than Shimizu! How dare you steal our manager like this, you damn baldie!”

“Shaved! My head is _shaved._ I'm not bald!”

Asahi giggled when Tanaka could only screech and struggle under Suga's choking headlock and while they all laughed at their stupidity, deep down Daichi knew one thing:

Daichi knew, and was certain, more than ever, of the feelings his soulmate gave off. 

He knew despite what his soulmate might look like, he was surprisingly a very caring lover when it came to Daichi, not to mention he also seemed shy when they were alone and overly protective when they were in a dangerous situation. There was also how dorky his soulmate was with stacks of scientific magazines and mangas spread on the library table they shared, how particular was his sleeping habits with how he used two pillows to muffle his ears and how much he seemed to enjoy squeezing Daichi's cheeks between his hands.

The atmosphere was always light, and although Daichi could never predict what actions that supposedly soulmate of his will do next, he always felt a tingle of excitement when finding that lanky figure among the sea of figures he never paid attention to and loved seeing those lips curve up when noticing him too. 

He wished his soulmate would always smile whenever they were together, dream or not. 

* * *

  
  


Feelings influenced dreams, and as Daichi's feelings only grew stronger each time his soulmate appeared at night, the more intimate the dreams had become. 

What started to change their relationship was in a dream Daichi had during a particularly freezing night of November. Sitting on a bench waiting for the bus in a town Daichi didn't recognize, his soulmate reached out timidly to hold Daichi's hand. Daichi didn't shake it away, only letting go when the bus arrived. It was logical for the latter, for it wouldn't be easy to get past the small door and walk through the narrow alley if they still held hands, so Daichi didn't understand why his soulmate seemed dejected when he did so. 

When both sat down next to each other, there was silence before Daichi surprised himself by asking quietly, “Would it be okay for us to hold hands?” 

His soulmate looked momentarily taken by surprise, somehow expecting to be rejected already, before lowering his chin and mumbled with a happy smile, “I don't mind.”

His palm was large and comforting, fingers lengthy and knotted wrapped around Daichi's calloused ones, the pad of his fingers occasionally rubbing small circles on Daichi's skin. It was warm, but not only his hand since the feeling quietly reached Daichi's chest and curled up in there, sending a gentle heat into his whole body before a fuzzy sensation resided within him. 

It wasn't much, but that simple dream was able to keep Daichi in high spirits for a whole week, Suga often catching Daichi looking at his own hand with a giddy smile. 

* * *

The sound of powerful waves crashing on each other and hitting the boulders resting by the shore filled the spacious beach. Daichi found himself waking up to him exploring a mysterious cave by the ocean with a group of friends where everyone exchanged stories and mirthful laughter under the bright sun. His soulmate was among the group, smirking at one of their friend's unlucky fate while an arm was hung around Daichi's neck. As he laughed at something someone had said, he pulled Daichi close and occasionally had his hand cupping Daichi's bicep or sliding down to hold his hand where Daichi appreciated its warmth every single time. 

  
  


* * *

Eyelids fluttered drowsily, Daichi's view revealed too much light reflecting on his white bedsheets. He found himself lying on his side of his own bed, his whole body feeling light and despite sensing a presence behind him, he was way too comfortable to move. 

A hand quietly cupped his cheek, its warmth spread all the way down to Daichi's heart pounding steadily, a thumb slowly rubbing against the skin under his eye. It was incredibly soothing and gentle, Daichi gathered the little strength he had to crane his neck and shift his upper body to face the figure sitting behind him with half-lidded eyes, a content hum being breathed out. 

The back of those long fingers slid up to delicately brush away the short brown strands falling on Daichi's forehead, then travelled down to trace the shape of Daichi's brow with his thumb. The pad of a finger carefully followed the shape of his eyes, felt the lashes flutter against it before it slid down the bridge of his nose, mapping a better picture of Daichi's face and stopped its journey with the tip of his middle finger resting on soft lips. It outlined those lips, followed their curves and gently pressed on the bottom one to feel its plumpness.

“This is a dream, right?” 

Of course it was. Daichi knew it the moment his mind noticed that dreamlike atmosphere and how despite lying on his bed, the setting of the whole room wasn't exactly as it should be. However, somewhere within him wished it wasn't a dream, so Daichi whispered what he hoped his soulmate would deny. 

The hand returned to cradle Daichi's cheek and this time Daichi lifted his hand up to place it on the larger one, leaning into the touch. The curve of his soulmate's lips drew up before one elbow rested beside Daichi's head, boxing him in his own bed. His shadow loomed over Daichi and very slowly, he lowered his body, closing the distance to press his lips tenderly on Daichi's forehead.

“For now, it is,” his soulmate purred, voice velvet and sending shivers down Daichi's body. “But one day it won't be a dream anymore.”

He couldn't see what expression his soulmate was wearing, but from the gentle smile showed to him, Daichi could feel that his eyes were most probably very loving. 

Shutting his eyelids with a comfortable sigh, Daichi felt another kiss, this time on his cheek that had been burning for a while. Although there was a feeling of deception upon hearing that he was dreaming, there was also a hint of hope and excitement growing within him. 

  
  


* * *

Temperature dropped even lower, leaves changed colours and sunlight lasted shorter; however, Daichi dreamed of midsummer with cicadas singing, the warm wind that did nothing to cool any living being and the steady whirring of the fan filling the room. 

Sliding open the paper-screen door, he walked into the room where his soulmate was lying on his back on the tatami, his forearm covering his eyes to block the sun, a thin navy tank top revealing a peek of his tummy with his gray shorts pulled higher due to the heat. 

Daichi instinctively walked up to him and as he crouched down, his soulmate removed his arm from his face to turn his head toward him. He smiled lovingly when seeing Daichi sit next to him and when Daichi rested his temple on his lover's tummy, he felt his body flinch for a split second. 

They let a moment pass between them, the cicadas singing even louder than the windchimes hung on the ceiling by the window. Daichi discreetly slid his hand on his soulmate's to thread their fingers together, and when he gave their linked fingers a gentle squeeze, he was suddenly grabbed by the waist and the whole world turned upside-down with Daichi being pinned on the tatami. 

Their interlaced fingers were still tightly threaded, Daichi lifting his gaze to see his soulmate hovering over him, lips slightly parted as he breathed, crimson spreading across his cheeks and down to his neck where Daichi caught a sweat drop slid down from the side of his soulmate's face to hang on his chin. 

Just when he was mesmerized by the sight he was viewing and cursing at his inability to see his soulmate's eyes, the latter's free hand slid up his neck to cradle it gently, silently guiding Daichi to tilt his head to the side before he sweetly landed an open mouthed kiss on his neck. 

It was extremely intimate, Daichi had never felt anything like this before and he knew if it was from anyone else, he'd be sending the person flying with his fist. But this was his soulmate. A man he had yet to meet, but the easiness and the complete trust he had been feeling everytime he was in his presence was unexplainable, so he let his soulmate pamper him, let his arm slide around his body and raise the small of his back from the tatami, arching it so their bodies were held close. 

He kissed Daichi's neck slowly, soft lips meeting salty skin lovingly before the wet sensation of his tongue pressed against it, licking a trail up and lips gently sucked on his skin. It was a dream, but Daichi's heart was pumping way too quickly, his face burning at the intense affection he was receiving. He tightened his fingers on the hand pinning him down, clinging to it as his quiet way to tell his soulmate “don't stop” and kept his back arched when the lean arm slid up his back to support his nape, offering a better access to savor it and cradle his face. 

“You're beautiful,” his soulmate breathed out next to his ear before his nose traced the curve of Daichi's neck and lips skimmed right where he could reach. “You're so beautiful...”

Daichi would have debated that statement if he wasn't in a dream. However, there was something sincere in his soulmate's voice that didn't make Daichi question his words. 

Ever. 

In fact, he believed every compliment, every little touch and every feeling he was receiving from him. 

“Adorable…” his soulmate murmured when Daichi moaned quietly after the latter had another taste of his neck. “Let me hear more?”

Struggling to stabilize his panting without success, Daichi lifted his free hand to cup his soulmate's nape, fingers lightly playing with the short black strands as he pulled him down. 

“Make me,” Daichi breathed out cheekily and that reply owned him a smirk from the man hovering above him, white canines resting on reddened lips.

“Oh, I can even make you _scream_ , darling,” he promised and brought their linked hands up to his lips where he nibbled Daichi's index playfully then placed a chaste peck on the surface of his hand.

Daichi chuckled to hide his shivers and how his breath hitched at the feeling of his teeth scraping his skin and the warm tongue teasing the tip of his finger. “So sure of yourself.” 

His soulmate only grinned wider, Daichi finding the red spread on his cheeks looked highly charming as his soulmate untangled their interlaced fingers to take his sweet time to slowly peel away his damped tank top over his head with Daichi pinned between his thighs. Broad shoulders and long torso with firm muscles were displayed before Daichi in a way he found it obscene, reaching out his forearms to hide his eyes to protect himself from combusting.

Fingers wrapped around his wrists, pinning them above his head to reveal his face. It's a shame, really, that neither of them were able to see their soulmate's eyes, but for once Daichi was glad because if he could see them, he was certain that his soul would have left his body long ago.

Dark locks with wet ends brushed the tip of Daichi's nose when his lover leaned down and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. 

“You know I can.”

And Daichi believed him. 

Always.

* * *

Daichi never told anyone about his soulmate dreams, not even Suga or Asahi. He kept them simple, only telling them about the general dreams where they held hands or sat next to each other in comfortable silence. Part of him wanted to keep it secret; it was indeed just a dream, but it was something personal to him that he didn't want to share. For that very same reason, Daichi couldn't tell Suga that the reason why he was spacing out that frequently during club activities or his random flushness during class was because of his last dream. Truth to be told, nothing happened after that, the scenery shifted and slowly dissipated with Daichi opening his eyes to stare drowsily at his ceiling for a good moment before curling up to the side and hug his futon with a burning face and a desperate groan pushed out from his throat.

Daichi liked him.

He liked him so much he never knew it was possible for him to bear such strong feelings for anyone in this lifetime. 

He wanted him. 

Wanted to meet him.

Wanted to bury his fingers in that soft black hair.

Wanted to see that smile up close with his very own eyes.

Wanted to be held in his arms and see if it would feel just as safe as in his dreams.

If some said that dreams were also a safe place for one to reveal their true self, then Daichi must admit that indeed his soulmate might be a little dorky sometimes. However, what Daichi had learned the most from his soulmate dreams was how loving that soulmate of his was.

It was a bit silly and unreasonable to fall in love with someone he had yet to meet, but there was no question that Daichi would have fallen in love with him over and over again, just like how he had been falling in love harder and harder after each dream where his soulmate did nothing but deepen Daichi's feelings for him.

  
  


* * *

Steam faded under the dim lights cast by streetlights and dissolved into the night where a streak of orange and purple at the far end of the sky was slowly blacking out. Daichi shoved his hands into his jacket's pockets, his nose buried inside his blue scarf, the tip cool and tinted in pink. School had been hectic lately, new homework was assigned right after handing the previous one, a never ending loop repeating again and again until exams awaited at the very end of it. As if life was preparing Daichi for what adulthood would be like, club activities were harsher than ever after losing a practice match against Seijoh and having to hear Oikawa boast about how he and Iwaizumi were a power couple and naturally they wouldn't lose.

That shitty ikemen. 

Daichi's eye twitched at that thought, annoyed to the core not only because school had been stressful and practice had been exhausting, but also because it had been weeks that his soulmate hadn’t appear in his dreams and Daichi had been missing him tremendously. It wasn't as if he could just grab his phone and make a call so they could hang out, Daichi had absolutely _no_ means _at all_ to reach out to that man he loved. 

He had heard people speculate about not having any soulmate dreams anymore after meeting them, but it wasn't something that could be proven through science, their only evidence being people agreeing on the hypothesis from what they had experienced. 

Lips twisted bitterly, Daichi tried searching in his mind at the possibilities of him meeting or crossing paths with his soulmate without ever noticing. 

Was it at the kombini whenever he was busy looking at the ingredient labels? 

Was it in the school hallway when he was changing classrooms or running to the cafeteria to get his favorite bread? 

Was it on the street while walking to school in the mornings? 

It couldn't be.

Daichi was certain that he would have felt something if he ever crossed paths with that soulmate of his; moreover, he couldn't recall seeing anyone with that particularly distinctive messy black hair in his life. Huffing out a triumphant breath, Daichi smiled and walked toward his house with reassurance, convinced that he hadn't crossed paths with his soulmate yet.

  
  


* * *

His vision blurred before the whole world swayed, loud thumping and what sounded like explosions and gunshots threatening to take the building down resonated in his helmet. Daichi didn't understand what was happening, only that he seemed to be hiding inside what looked like an abandoned warehouse filled with dust flying before him, cemented walls fallen into pieces while the ceiling threatened to crumble from the many holes of different sizes that pierced through it. 

His ribs ached and from the pain he felt whenever he applied pressure, only then Daichi realized he was hurt. He probably had bruises all over his body and upon taking a quick look at himself, his black uniform was stained with patches of blood, some fresh and nasty cuts visible under the ripped clothing that somehow missed his black munitions vest.

Just when Daichi cautiously stood on his feet, a plangent explosion loud enough to tear the sky open shook the ground and almost turned Daichi deaf. It happened not too far from the warehouse, the impact blasted the windows and shattered the glass, reducing them into tiny sharp projectiles. Strong wind sent Daichi flying into the other side of the room, his body slammed heavily against a pile of rusted shelves and crumbles of concrete fell from the ceiling. Everything was quiet for a long while until Daichi blinked his eyes open and realized his eardrums were damaged, his deficient helmet lost during the new assault. Dust fluttered in the air, Daichi squinted his eyes, noticing the muted sounds as he groaned when planting his forearms on the ground to push himself up. 

The whole scene was unsteady for a moment, an uncomfortable pressure sitting on Daichi's lungs as they asked for air when his throat constricted, making him cough incessantly. It took a minute for noises to be perceived by his ears and resonated in his brain, soon becoming clearer. Daichi heard the remaining ruins crumble and hit the ground and upon trying to get up, he felt something crushing on his legs. A pile of heavy-duty shelving was weighing on his limbs.

“Fucking _hell_ —”

Groaning and writhing under the equipment with difficulty, Daichi successfully freed one leg away from it and used it to push himself away from the trash heap that refused to budge. 

A breathy whimper faintly reached his ear and upon lifting his chin to the source of the sound, Daichi spotted a body buried under giant pieces of concrete not too far away from him. Wearing the same defence army uniform as Daichi, his soulmate's messy black hair turned gray from the dust and soil sticking to it, the corner of his lips bruised and a trail of blood leaking down from his temple. He tried to push himself up and crawl out from the mountain of scrap without luck, the useless effort only making him heave his chest up and down heavily as he gasped for air. 

His lips parted and moved quickly, Daichi couldn't hear the words, only aware that his soulmate was trying to shout something at him. Daichi squinted his eyes, trying to make up the words from his lips, but as noise echoed in his head and right when his soulmate's voice began to be clearer, something from the other side of the window caught Daichi's attention. It shined for a split second, but enough to freeze Daichi's whole being at the realization of it. 

“GET OUT OF THERE,” Daichi shouted from the top of his lungs and reached his hand to his hip, only to realize that his gun was missing. 

He glanced quickly at his soulmate, hoping the latter would be able to get away; however, his soulmate only coughed for his life, hard enough to be spitting his own lungs out and struggled to cover his head when a post crashed down next to him. 

Instincts kicked in and not knowing from where the sudden amount of strength came from, Daichi moved before he was aware of what he was doing. 

Everything happened faster than any of them were able to register what was happening.

Daichi's free leg slammed the heavy-duty shelving dryly with his feet, sending it slamming on the wall. There was the stressful tumbling of steel clanking on each other and crashing against the ground, but Daichi couldn't hear anything but the deafening thumping of his own heartbeat resonating in his ears and the persistent thought at the back of his mind eating him whole. 

It was a stressful race against time. Every second counted and seemed way too long, every breath was a waste of time if his legs didn't take him closer to where his soulmate was trapped under, coughing and trying to free himself, unaware of the imminent danger that was about to fall upon him at any second.

Knees buckled and Daichi's whole body wobbled, losing balance and sending his face first on the uneven ground. 

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE!” Craning his neck to the voice he recognized, Daichi saw his soulmate screaming at him with a wretched voice, his breathing strained. “DON'T GET ANY CLOSER, THE BUILDING IS GOING DOWN ANY MINUTE, JUST GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE—”

A glint of light in his soulmate's peripheral vision.

The colour was familiar in a threatening way.

Red. 

His soulmate followed the subtle trail of light barely visible. It was aimed at his chest, the vivid colour contrasting boldly on his black uniform where his bulletproof vest was hanging loosely on him, barely fulfilling its purpose. 

A sniper, hidden somewhere outside of the building.

That was the moment his soulmate realized in what situation he was in, how hopeless and screwed he was. Everything was going to end right there, with him trapped under a pile of garbage and— 

A hand forcefully gripped his arm and his soulmate barely had the time to hear a grunt that he was violently pulled out from the heap of concrete and tossed to the other side of the room, bruises lately flourishing on his skin without doubt. 

He planted his fist on the ground to heave his upper body up with a groan, but his protest of discomfort was forgotten upon lifting his gaze. 

Dust mixed with sand obstructed his view, but there were clearly splatters of blood staining the cracked ground. His eyes followed up the trail of red where it ended with a body laying on his stomach on the floor, a pierced hole on the back of his uniform visible and leaking red. 

If anyone could see Daichi's soulmate's face, they'd probably think he was anemic with how pale he looked right then. He stopped breathing, unsure if his heartbeat was still thumping, unsure if he was seeing right. 

The love of his life. 

On the ground. 

The red puddle under him becoming bigger as seconds passed. 

“DA—”

“H-hey...” 

His breath flinched at the sound of the weak calling.

“You okay?” Daichi inquired gently, face resting on the cold, dusty surface.

His soulmate parted his lips, but no word came out as they only trembled, so he tried nodding his head, hoping that faint action was visible enough for Daichi to understand. And he did, because he saw Daichi smile despite the labored breath he was struggling with. 

“I'm glad,” Daichi breathed out with relief and the last thing he heard was his first name being shouted out desperately from his soulmate's lips as the latter tried to run back to him. 

Then everything blacked out.

  
  


* * *

“Kuroo, you're being _real_ annoying right now.” Not bothering to lift his face up from his device, Kenma complained with the biggest scrunch on his face yet. “If you're gonna act like a dead fish mopping on my floor, do that at your own place.”

Kuroo whined lazily and lifted his face plastered on the cushion to shoot a disapproving look to his childhood friend, dark strands of hair peeling away ungracefully from the fluffy surface.

“Easy to say when you have not only one soulmate but _TWO_ , and who, on top of that, had _already met them_ ,” Kuroo hissed with bitterness and dropped his face flat on the cushion again.

Kenma spared his friend a quiet look. “Me meeting with Shoyou and Tobio is purely coincidental.”

“Chibi-chan traveled all the way to Tokyo with Grumpy-kun to buy the same game you wanted to get and all of you meeting at the store by accident? uh-huh.”

“It was a special edition only sold in Tokyo. He'll never be able to get it where he lives.”

“Mh-hm.”

“Neither of us were expecting to meet each other.”

Peeking at his friend, Kenma's cheeks were dusted in pink with a faint curve of his lips despite him still glued to his device. Kuroo smiled. 

“Ahhh~ must be nice having finally met your soulmate... I haven't dreamt of mine in four months, Kenma... What if he had already forgotten about me? Urgh, I miss him so much...”

“You're being dramatic.”

Kuroo grabbed the nearest floor pillow he could reach and threw it aimlessly at his friend. “Dramatic is _you_ not showing concern for your childhood friend. I'm in a crisis here, Kenma.”

Just when Kenma turned to Kuroo with a highly annoyed face and parted his lips to reply, a playful ringtone cut his action.

“Speak of the devil,” Kuroo smirked. “You even set a personalized ringtone for Chibi-chan, huh?”

“You've got a problem with that?” Eyes glued to his phone, there was a glint of excitement in Kenma's light brown eyes only Kuroo could tell after knowing him all these years.

Kuroo simply chuckled, amused as to how much Kenma had changed, slowly, after knowing Hinata and Kageyama. His expression became more interesting, his personality becoming more assertive at times. He talked more and showed curiosity toward things he used to ignore its existence. Kuroo was only eighteen, but he felt like he just understood how parents felt when they were proud and overwhelmed at their child's growth.

“Does it look like Shoyou has grown taller?”

A phone was shoved before Kuroo with a picture of Hinata standing next to Kageyama with his back straightened exaggeratedly, trying to meet the setter's height with sheer determination.

“Still looks chibi to me,” Kuroo snickered with mischief, the picture barely gave him more than two seconds of attention... until his eyes noticed a shadow at the far end of the picture, in a little corner behind Kenma's two soulmates. 

“Kenma... who is that?” Holding his breath without realizing, Kuroo muttered slowly, eyes fixed on the blurry shadow.

Kenma quirked an eyebrow and turned the phone back to himself. “That's Shoyou and Tobio?”

“I know what Chibi-chan and Grumpy-kun look like!” Kuroo snatched back his friend's phone to take a better look at the familiar back turned to him, but the blurry smile the guy was showing to a tall guy with long hair being karate-chopped by a silver-haired guy was as hypnotizing as a siren's song, enticing Kuroo to the point he couldn't see anything else but him. “The back. The guy at the back with short brown hair. What is his name?”

Kenma peeked from above Kuroo's shoulder, trying to see who he was referring to. “I think it's their captain, that's all I know.”

Kuroo barely heard Kenma's voice, his whole attention focused on that unclear section of the photograph shown in the device. Long, knotty fingers gingerly touched the surface of the screen and zoomed it gently on the curious guy who had caught Kuroo's attention. The guy had his back turned to Hinata and from how he craned his neck to the side to laugh at the long-haired man's misery, Kuroo couldn't see his whole face, only part of his charming smile that left Kuroo wanting to see more. 

“Where did you say Chibi-chan is from?”

Kenma narrowed his sharp eyes, not liking what he was sensing. “...Miyagi.”

“I...” His heartbeat wouldn't calm down. There was a strange feeling inside of Kuroo, as if every cell in his body were reacting upon seeing that picture, making a sudden mix of fear and excitement take over him, ready to explode if he spent another second rooted to the floor. “I'm going to Miyagi. Now.”

“Kuroo, you aren't even—”

“ _Now._ ” The tone in his voice left no place for arguments; Kuroo began zipping his jacket and swung his messenger bag on his shoulder. “And you're coming with me.”


	3. Chapter 3

The ball slammed heavily on the laminated floor, the sound echoing in the busy gym. Asahi looked proud of the spike he just made, one that Daichi wasn't able to receive and clicked his tongue despite the smile he showed, amazed at the progress Asahi had made in such a short time. 

Surging out of nowhere, Nishinoya clapped the ace's back with too much enthusiasm as well as an abnormal amount of strength, making Asahi choke on his own spit. Daichi wiped the sweat bead rolling down his cheek with his white shirt and smirked at the team's smallest crows raining compliments at the shy giant, surrounding him like girls ambushing their idol. 

“Are you feeling unwell?” Suga popped his lips away from his water bottle and seeing Daichi blink cluelessly at him, Suga nodded his chin at him. “You've been placing the palm of your hand on your chest quite often today.”

Suddenly self-conscious of his own hand pressing on his chest, Daichi awkwardly released his fingers clutching at his shirt and scratched the back of his nape, unsure what to say. It started since the last period of class and only got more intense as the day went on. It was an odd feeling, a sudden explosive excitement and happiness flooding within Daichi and made his heart thump wildly without explanation. It was as if he was unconsciously anticipating something, but unsure of the source making him feel this way. 

“Sawamura.” Daichi and Suga turned toward the gentle voice, both greeted by Kiyoko's small smile. “Someone wishes to meet you outside.”

Daichi frowned. “Can't it wait? We're in the middle of practice right now.”

Kiyoko walked up to him, the curve of her lips lifting just a bit higher. “I think you'd love to meet that person now.” Before Daichi could ask anything, Kiyoko slid her fingers through Daichi's hair, replacing some rebellious short strands sticking out of place as Daichi reflexively bent down just enough so she wouldn't need to tiptoe. “You might wanna look presentable too.”

Daichi shot a questionable look at Suga, though the latter only shrugged his shoulders, encouraging his best friend to do as their manager said. He placed his water bottle on the floor and while the rest of the team chatted and made a ruckus just as usual, Daichi made his way toward the door. 

The instant Daichi's body passed through the solid door frame, he was attacked from the side. It happened too quickly, Daichi barely noticed the shadow that loomed over his body and charged directly at him. He was violently tackled, but before his brain could process the action as a threat, long arms tightly wrapped around his shoulders and sent both of them tumbling heavily on the grass with Daichi crushed under the other one's weight, his vision filled with the clear blue sky.

“What even—”

“So this is where you've been hiding all this time? In the countryside, right next to my best friend's soulmates? I'm _so incredibly_ mad I didn't check Kenma's phone sooner.”

Daichi’s hands were gripping tightly on the stranger's shoulders in an attempt to get him off of him, but all struggle was put to an end when he heard the stranger's voice. 

A voice he could almost swear he had heard it somewhere before.

“Not only captain of any sport's club, but _volleyball_? You've gotta be kidding me.”

Dark soft locks came into view and tickled Daichi's neck. At this point Daichi had stopped breathing, his mind unable to process anything as a familiar feeling momentarily rushed over him when his fingers dug into those broad shoulders holding him down, unaware that both of them could feel the loud thumping of their heartbeat with how close their bodies were pressed together. 

He recognized this feeling, this scenery he had seen countless times in his dreams with him pinned on the ground and peppered with kisses all over his face while his heart grew several sizes bigger at the loving affection he was receiving.

Breath cut short while the heart pumped so violently it threatened to pop out from his chest, fingers clutched the stranger's shoulders with force, crumpling the black jacket he was wearing and with a huff and a practiced movement, the stranger gasped as Daichi rolled them over and straddled on top of him. 

The man pinned firmly under Daichi was highly amazed at the latter's strength, but just as he was about to let a playful comment slip out from his lips, no word was let out when seeing Daichi's hesitant hand come up and cradle his neck, slowly sliding up its length, fingers trembling just slightly when the palm cupped his jaw. 

Daichi's gaze was casted low, carefully taking in the features of the man trapped under him inch by inch. He lingered on those familiar lips he had seen it numerous times in his dreams; smiling, smirking, parting to let out a hyena-like laugh. 

Gingerly, Daichi gently pressed a thumb on the man's bottom lip, warm and soft while faint breaths escaped from those lips and skimmed on his skin. 

Despite the feeling of déjà vu, it was as if somewhere within Daichi he still couldn't quite believe what he was seeing before him. It was surreal to the point he doubted if he was still dreaming and frankly, if he was indeed dreaming, he wished he wouldn't wake up anytime soon. 

One hand firmly pressed on the ground right next to the stranger's head while the other one travelled higher, memories from bits of Daichi's dreams where the dark haired man whispered, chuckled and laughed came into his mind, never revealing anything higher than his cheekbones. 

He always wondered what expression that fringe falling before his face was hiding, with what kind of eyes that man looked at him while the corners of his lips lifted upwards. 

His hand stopped right under where messy locks of hair fell over the stranger's face, and with great care and gentleness, Daichi pushed the soft fringe away and— 

_Oh._

Pupils shaped like a cat's, they were drowned in orbits filled with flecks of gold as enchanting as a golden rutile while the one hidden under the fringe wore a light tint of gray that glistened when sunlight hit it. They stared right into Daichi's warm browns, sharp and observant of his every reaction, but with a certain shyness he hid so well no one was able to tell. 

“I know your voice.” Eyes refusing to blink by fear that what he was seeing might disappear right before him like in his dreams, Daichi's voice was quiet, barely audible. “What... what is your name?”

The man pinned under him smiled, cheeky and somehow childlike it made Daichi's heart feel something unusually warm. “Tetsurou,” he answered and managed to free both hands crushed under Daichi's legs, raising them to rest them gently on Daichi's thighs. “My name is Kuroo Tetsurou.”

Daichi wanted to say something— anything— but couldn't because his brain was reduced to a blank emptiness upon seeing and still processing that the man laid on the ground before him was the soulmate he had been dreaming of all along. Daichi had a thousand and one questions for him, but none came to mind when his eyes rested on that pair of heterochromia irises smiling at him with crinkles that proved the sincerity of his feelings. 

“Tetsurou...” Daichi breathed out absentmindedly, so softly as if to engrave that name into his mind. It was the only thing he could manage to say right then with how mesmerized he was by the breathtaking man under him; such a fine man he was allowed to call him his soulmate.

Just when Daichi was about to part his lips, the glint in Kuroo's eyes faded momentarily despite still focusing on Daichi still straddling him and not planning to get up anytime soon. 

“Are you... disappointed of me?” Kuroo spoke slowly, voice quiet with a hint of nervousness with how he refused to blink before quickly shifting his gaze sideways, embarrassed. Both hands pulled away from Daichi's thighs, he wrapped his fingers inside his palms, suddenly not daring to touch the man he yearned for so long. “Disappointed of what I look like? I know my hair is horrendous, my eyes are... _abnormal_ , I'm probably not meeting any expectations you had of me, my laugh is _really_ loud and sounds like a hysterical hyena—”

Kuroo's mouth was muffled so abruptly and forcefully by Daichi's strong hand, his own words were slammed back into his mouth and swallowed down his throat. 

“ _Shut up_.” Daichi's voice was a little sour, brows furrowed so tightly creases dug deep into his skin. It made his chest suffocate at the thought of his soulmate talking about himself like that. How could Kuroo even say anything like that when everything Daichi had known about him— whether good or bad— had only made him drown deeper into Kuroo's affections for him? Daichi adjusted his posture, downright sitting on Kuroo's hips with his whole weight, hands grabbing his cheeks firmly and forcing Kuroo to meet his eyes. 

“You have this annoying smirk in my dreams, looking aloof and always ready to get yourself involved in some nonsense so I was convinced you'd be giving me the hardest of times. However,” Daichi added and the tension of the hands grasping Kuroo's face wore off to tenderly cup his face. “Despite it all, I learned that you are also impossibly sweet toward me. You are always pampering me in my dreams, whispering cheesy lines and showing me just how much you enjoy being with me.”

Cheeks were painted in hues of red and they tingle from the burn they felt. Kuroo couldn't tear his eyes away from Daichi, not when he had finally met him after all this time and witnessed just how lovely he was with his fond eyes filled with colors of brown sunflowers. 

“I like you. I fell in love with you,” Daichi confessed, shy but earnest. “I love the way you love me, how you show me your affection.” Fingers slid through Kuroo's bang, combing the dark strands to keep his face clear as his voice kept feathery. “Dreams projected one's true self, right? If that's true then you are the most nerdy, protective and loving person I've ever met. You might not be perfect, but you are enough for me and now meeting you— seeing you in person I—”

Daichi turned his head to the side and avoided looking at Kuroo, a hand clasping his mouth while his whole body felt hot and close to combust. He always thought the day he would meet his soulmate he'd be trembling with excitement, overjoyed and nervous to the point he might barf just like Hinata right before every match. It never occurred to him that being embarrassed to death would be a possibility. And how could he not, when the person he longed to meet was finally right before him, body warm and looking so impossibly attractive with how his eyes were dangerously pulling Daichi in, drawing him closer like magnets until Daichi's gaze was filled with only Kuroo alone.

Kuroo often wondered what would be his soulmate's reaction upon seeing him; maybe a bit skeptical, maybe a bit weirded out by his sly appearance, but it was none of them. From the moment Daichi had laid his eyes on him, they sparkled as if he was gazing at fireworks. They glittered and were filled with amorousness for him. 

Only for him. 

Kuroo smiled up at his soulmate, teasing but bashful, both canines resting gently on his bottom lip exactly like how Daichi recalled him doing it in his dreams. “So judging from that furious blush flourishing on your face, I take that you're seeing something you like?”

Daichi nodded with a simple “yes”, voice small and husky, Kuroo's soul was nearly punched out from his body and rejoined the heavens. Daichi was even more adorable than in his dreams it was unbearable, not to mention when his face turned even redder as he whispered, “Very much so,” and Kuroo swore he would be the world's biggest idiot if he ever let go of Daichi's hand in this lifetime. 

“Am I...” Daichi's lips parted and closed, uncertain how to form his question. His back slumped, the hands forcefully squeezing Kuroo's cheeks loosened and slipped down to quietly cling on Kuroo's jacket. “I should be the one asking you if you are okay with me...” 

Kuroo cocked his head to the side, confused. “Why wouldn't I be okay with you?”

“Have you seen me, Kuroo?”

“Yeah? I'm looking at you right now.”

Brown eyes slid down from Kuroo's face to stare at his hand gripping the dark fabric. “You're breathtaking. Handsome. Charming. Your eyes are gorgeous and you attract people's gazes just by breathing.” 

Daichi bit the inside of his cheek out of nervousness, wondering if he should just shut his mouth right now. Long lean fingers tilted his chin up and cupped his cheek. Kuroo was blushing, but his eyes looked into his with concern, his silence encouraging Daichi to word out his worries to him. Daichi gulped and opened his mouth once again. 

“I'm... plain. Ordinary. Short hair, average height, common brown eyes, typical good student with standard grades.” Daichi's gaze was casted low, eyes staring absentmindedly at what was before him without truly seeing it. “Can someone like me really stand next to you?”

The last few words were barely breathed out from Daichi's lips, voice so low it was almost gone with the wind.

Because Kuroo didn't say a thing right away and seconds passed with the far away squeaking of sneakers against the polished wooden floor of the gymnasium occupied by the basketball club filling the silence between them, embarrassment was consuming Daichi from the inside. Turning his head away and hands releasing the crumpled jacket, Daichi was lifting his weight off Kuroo when his wrist was caught and his body was pulled back down. 

“I never said you could get off of me.” The palm of Kuroo's hand was cupping Daichi's nape, firmly pressing the latter's face onto his chest. Daichi could smell a faint scent of fabric detergent through the opening of his jacket. “Do you know _how long_ I've been wanting to meet you? AH-AH.” A finger was hurriedly pressed on Daichi's lips when he opened his mouth to reply, stopping him dryly. “I've searched my whole school, looked into _every.damn.classroom_ trying to spot someone who'd look like you and even waited at the gate of nearby schools after class to see if I could find you. Just ask Kenma, he'd be happy to tell you how lame I looked back then, he witnessed _everything_.”

Daichi tried lifting his head once again, but the second his cheek peeled off from Kuroo's chest and barely tilted it toward the gym, he was grabbed by the arm and shoved to the ground with a hand supporting his waist. 

“Eyes on me.”

Kuroo was once again the one hovering over Daichi, weight pinning him down firmly, chest heaving and unexpectedly, that familiar smirk Daichi had witnessed so many times in his dreams was replaced by something more serious. 

“I want you. Only you. I don't want anyone else if they aren't you.” With a hand still resting on Daichi's waist, the free hand caressed his cheek and a thumb brushed his lips so gently Daichi's heart throbbed. Kuroo's eyes were looking down at him with such an intense amount of fondness and adoration Daichi had never seen anyone direct it at him and suddenly he understood. 

Words weren't needed. 

Kuroo didn't need to voice out his feelings for Daichi, didn't need to list down the reasons why he liked him. 

It was right there, with the way Kuroo stared down at him as if he was gazing at the most beautiful thing in the world, caressing him with the greatest amount of affection as if Daichi was the most precious treasure that deserved to be treated with such care and attention, and how he had been searching for him even after seeing how simple Daichi was in his dreams. He could have ignored him, avoided him, disappeared without ever showing himself before Daichi after taking a glance of him in the gym and left him waiting for that soulmate who'd never come, wondering if they would be meeting in the near future or if anything tragic happened to his soulmate. 

But Kuroo didn't. 

He had seen how plain and simple Daichi was in his dreams with his looks and how he behaved, and despite it all, Kuroo _saw_ him, looked for him and fell in love with him all over again after meeting him.

“Oh my god,” Daichi huffed and covered his burning face with his hands. “You are just as sappy as in my dreams, how am I going to survive this.”

“And you are just as lovely as I recall you in my dreams,” Kuroo chuckled as he wrapped his fingers around Daichi's wrists and pinned them above his head, wanting to take in his lover's every reaction. “Don't you dare hide yourself, Daichi. I wanna see your face.”

There was a flinch. Deep brown irises looked up at Kuroo with wide eyes, the tension in his wrist rigid in Kuroo's hand. "H-how do you know my name?”

Kuroo blinked in bemusement at that question. “When I was a kid I had a dream where I was resting on a tree when I heard you laughing while chasing after a small dog. There was a granny calling your name.” 

_Huh?_

Gingerly, Kuroo slicked back a few rebellious strands stuck on Daichi's damped forehead. “There was also that dream where we were hanging in front of a kombini with some friends and I peeked at your student ID peeking out from your bag. I could only see your first name though.”

_Wait._

“Oh and that dream where we were laughing with a bunch of people and someone mentioned your name before saying something I can't remember—”

_Wait a minute._

“DID YOU—” Daichi's pupils were blown wide. He gulped hard, lips shivered for a split second while his heartbeat raced. “Did you have a dream of you running in a forest and meeting me?”

Kuroo's gaze shifted sideways, searching in his memories before nodding with delight. “Oh yeah! The tree barks were white right? It was such a peaceful place!”

_Thi-this was not supposed to—_

“I also had a dream of us sitting next to each other on the bus and you asked if it was alright for us to hold hands,” Kuroo continued as if he was an elder recalling a good old memory. “I was really happy you asked because I thought you rejected me.”

Kuroo chuckled merrily at the sight of Daichi's ever stunned state, mouth agape and face turning redder and hotter by the minute.

Forcing his throat to push out the words obstructing it, Daichi's voice came out choked. “O-ocean...” 

The man above him craned his neck, eyes still locked with Daichi's, dark strands sliding across his cheek that lifted from the smile formed on his face. “There were fireworks and we laughed by the bonfire.”

_Soulmate dreams were not supposed to—_

“You were trapped between the concretes and—”

“And you saved me but that cost your own life.” Kuroo pressed his elbows next to Daichi's head and while pushing out a strangled groan, he lowered his upper body to plant his face on Daichi's chest. “Seeing you get shot and die in front of me was more painful than if I were the one who got shot. I woke up with cold sweats and then I was losing my damn mind because I didn’t dream of you for _months_ and I thought I've lost you for real. I was getting so desperate I—”

“I'm here.” A warm hand softly cupped Kuroo's cheek and guided it to lift his face where Daichi offered him a smile, eyes looking into Kuroo's and the feeling was so strong, Kuroo felt as if Daichi looked right into his soul and saw him for who he was. “I'm right here.” 

A smile— small and drawn naturally on Daichi's lips— was not the only thing that curved upward. His pair of gentle eyes with the color of fresh earth soaked by rain drops also did the same, narrowing almost into a thin line, crinkles digging just slightly at the corner of those gorgeous eyes filled with an incredible depth of affection Kuroo couldn't see the bottom of it.

It was the fondest smile Kuroo had ever seen with his own eyes, such a lovely sight he wanted to permanently engrave it into the back of his eyelids and swore to always protect it with everything he got. 

It was easy— way too easy— how even in Kuroo's dreams Sawamura Daichi was able to make his heart skip a beat and steal his breath away without having to pronounce a single word. With his vision filled only with the comforting and loving view of his soulmate, Kuroo's body was seized by a sudden urgent impulse. He lunged forward, swift as the wind, and using the same care he would give to the most precious treasure he would own, Kuroo's hands lovingly held Daichi's cheeks, palms warming at the contact of their warmth as his lips delicately met another pair of chapped ones. 

Time seemed to come to a stop— if not momentarily— when the breath Daichi had lost as he let out a voiceless gasp was the breath Kuroo had taken just to gather his courage firmer and love his soulmate just a bit stronger by pressing their lips even closer. Kuroo's chest tingled before bursting into a thousand fireworks, the overwhelming explosion of euphoria melting his brain and the back of his eyelids filled with the most colorful sparks he had ever experienced. 

Daichi's lips tasted salty, but surprisingly soft and harbored just as much heat as the cheeks held between Kuroo's hands. Just as Kuroo was drowning himself into the quiet whimpers and moans that had escaped from Daichi's lips, Daichi was just as wanting, giving all of himself to Kuroo without a second thought, pliant and willing. A small wet sound could be heard when Kuroo licked into Daichi's mouth followed by a startled moan coming out from the latter that Kuroo drank it all down greedily and carried on until Daichi's chest heaved heavily and the rhythm of his breath became erratic.

It was a new sensation for both of them, all that longing for the touch of a person they had never seen and finally meeting them, touch them and feel them fall apart from their contact all the while trying desperately to contain the intense joy and the urge to simply drown them into their love till they were left sated and dazed. 

Kuroo pulled away just enough to admire Daichi being caged between his elbows, his shadow casting on Daichi's overheating face with glistening lips. “You look extremely adorable right now,” Kuroo chuckled softly, voice throaty, a hand coming up to stroke Daichi's cheek before fingers slid their way up to comb his short hair. Eyes dark and a teasing smirk up on his face, Kuroo slipped his fingertips under Daichi's white t-shirt, his skin warm and soft, but there was also no mistake that there were firm muscles hidden under that piece of fabric too. “Which reminds me, how about we continue from where we left off previously, hmm?”

It made Kuroo grin even wider seeing how flustered Daichi had become upon hearing his words; how round brown eyes widened in surprise, cheeks flamed in embarrassment and mouth left agape. Daichi's reactions were nothing but pure adorableness in Kuroo's eyes and the latter couldn't help but tease him even more, wanting to see to what extent he was allowed to go and what other reactions would he be able to coax it out from his lovely soulmate.

“You remember that dream, right?” Kuroo smiled cockily, his voice low and full of promises as he slipped both hands under Daichi's shirt and pressed his palms on Daichi's hips, feeling the smooth skin. 

“N-no, Kuroo, don't—” Daichi had never felt such a ridiculous high level of flusterness, his thoughts were all tangled together, his brain unable to send the proper signals to his body so he could fight against Kuroo but to writhe under him. 

Daichi could feel Kuroo smile from the press of his lips on his shoulder, his breath ghosting on his skin before the sensation of his neck being sucked and slowly licked pushed the sweetest and the most unrecognizable cry Daichi had ever produced. He quickly clasped both hands on his mouth, face on fire, eyes averting the man holding him down. What the fuck was _THAT_. 

While it was the most embarrassing sound Daichi believed he had ever made and never would he have known that he was capable of letting out such a voice, it was the most alluring and pleasant music Kuroo had ever heard and he needed to hear _more_. Every cry, every gasp for air and every moan was formed from under his care and for once, Kuroo allowed himself to be greedy. His hands slid up the long of Daichi's waist ever so slowly, eyes captivated by how his lovely soulmate jerked under his touch and hands clamped even stronger at his mouth to cover his panting. 

“Oh my god, Daichi...” Kuroo breathed out while peppering kisses on Daichi's jaw, absolutely captivated, “Seriously, how are you so alluring, it's unreal, just looking at you it's enough to— **_ACK?!_ **”

A horribly powerful impact slammed the back of Kuroo's head, putting a stop to his shameful courting and sending him crashing on top of Daichi who reflexively wrapped his arms around his soulmate's waist. A volleyball bounced dully on the grass before subtly rolling not too far from Kuroo's feet. Upon lifting his body and looking back, Kageyama had an arm stretched out toward them, dark eyes blinking once without an ounce of guilt revealed in them.

“ _Tobio-ku-_ ”

“Kageyama!” Daichi scowled from above Kuroo's shoulder, hand gripping Kuroo's jacket to pull his upper body higher. “What do you think you are doing?! That was hella dangerous!”

Kageyama straightened his back, his features showing an unusual startled expression. “Kozume-san asked me to aim the ball at Kuroo-san's head.”

“Wha-”

“KENMA!” Kuroo growled at his childhood friend, a hand rubbing the back of his head where a bump had already formed. “I DIDN'T BRING YOU WITH ME SO YOU CAN MURDER ME IN FRONT OF MY SOULMATE!”

“No, you didn't.” Kenma took a few steps forward with Hinata's hand in his until they were standing next to Kageyama. In a very quiet voice, Kenma praised Kageyama's spike before showing the younger setter a small smile and resting his head on his arm. When his gaze landed on Kuroo, it was pure annoyance. “But do anything more than that and you'd be acting like a pervert and I don't want to be associated with you if that's the case. Plus, you've already put up quite a show.”

That was when Daichi saw, from above Kuroo's shoulder, the whole Karasuno members all squeezed together behind the gymnasium's door, eyes filled with excitement and curiosity. Tanaka and Asahi looked touched and nearly crying with a tear hanging in the corner of their eyes, Suga had the nastiest smirk Daichi had ever witnessed in his entire life, Noya's grin was so wide it could rival Totoro's, Ennoshita somehow looked relieved with Kinoshita and Narita trying to look away due to shyness, Tsukishima seemed bored to be dragged into the group by a very curious Yamaguchi, Yachi was desperately hiding her crimson face behind her tiny hands and Kiyoko simply stood behind them all with a little amused smile on her face. 

Daichi should be feeling dread, but instead, he felt fire burning his whole face. “I'm not sure I want to know how long you guys have been standing there.” 

There were a few awkward laughs and muttered apologies, but it was Suga's voice that was the loudest and the most fearless with how he announced, “Oh, not long! Just from the moment you walked out of the gym!”

An agonising groan was let out from Daichi's throat. He squinted his eyes at his teammates, most precisely at Suga, but his usual glare had lost its effectiveness with how the lower half of his face was hidden behind Kuroo's broad shoulders, a little act of shyness he never displayed publicly. 

“Can you, like, stop acting cute for a second?” With a slight turn of his head, Daichi's face was only inches away from Kuroo's. The man looming above him had an uncomfortable frown partly hidden by his fringe, sharp cheekbones flushed pink and lips pouted tightly to prevent himself from sinking down and pressing them against Daichi's once again. “It's already very demanding for me to look away from you, so if you're going to unconsciously keep being this adorable to test me, I'm not gonna lie that I won't be restraining myself from turning into an octopus and cling to you for the rest of my life.”

The supposed threat only made Daichi choke on his spit and burst out laughing merrily at the ridiculous image he had formed in his thoughts. 

“DAICHI, I TOLD YOU TO STOP THAT,” eyes locked on the crinkles around Daichi's narrowed eyes from mirth and the rich, deep sound of his voice reaching into his sensitive ears, Kuroo succumbed to his new found weakness and dived down once again, long arms embracing his love tightly against his body, face nuzzling into Daichi's neck like a cat and making the latter stifle a small cry of surprise. “You're gonna be the death of me,” Kuroo whined in a whisper, his whole body experiencing a pleasant warmth soothing all the way to his heart. 

No existing language could ever express just how enchanted Kuroo was upon seeing his soulmate. He was naturally drawn by Daichi's presence, awed and fascinated to discover every reaction Daichi would show, every word that would be let out from his lips that he totally forgot they were the center of attention for the whole Karasuno volleyball team, not noticing Daichi frantically clapping his back and telling him to stop before another impact whacked the back of his head.

“KENMA!” Kuroo howled with anger toward his childhood friend only to see a startled Hinata positioned the same way as Kageyama not a moment ago. 

Hinata flinched from Kuroo's narrowed eyes, a weird suppressed startle let out from his tightly zipped lips before quickly hiding behind his long-distance soulmate. “K-kenma told me to spike the ball at your head or he'll never set for me anymore!”

“Don't glare at Shoyou,” Kenma said quietly, brown feline eyes squinted in annoyance at Kuroo when Hinata's grip on Kenma's sleeve tightened. “Be glad he didn't hit it as hard as Tobio, you embarrassment of a childhood friend.”

Kuroo pouted. “Kenma, that's harsh.”

“I only spoke the truth.”

“Tanaka!” Daichi called from above Kuroo's shoulder, body wiggling against the grass so he could sit up properly and look at his teammate, but Kuroo's body refused to budge an inch, solidly trapping Daichi under him and relishing the newfound view he highly enjoyed. Huffing while pushing Kuroo lower, Daichi continued, “Did you and Shimizu share the same dreams?”

“My dream is to marry Kiyoko-san and get tickets for the upcoming Olympic games!” Without the slightest hesitation, Tanaka answered with bright eyes. “Kiyoko-san’s dream is to visit Plitvice Lakes in Croatia before we turn thirty. Oh, and she wants to adopt a bird!”

Daichi giggled at the thought of a little bird perching on Tanaka’s head. “That's nice, but I was referring to the soulmate dreams.”

“Oh.”

There was a pause where Tanaka and Kiyoko both looked at each other with their cheeks flushed pink before turning their faces back to Daichi and shook them simultaneously. 

Daichi shifted his gaze to his two first years. “How about you, Hinata, Kageyama?”

Despite the wide smile, Hinata cocked his head to the side then shook it, Kageyama doing just the same, and when Daichi's gaze met Kenma's, the latter quietly confirmed the same.

“Soulmates don't share the same dreams, Daichi-san, no one does,” Tanaka said lightly with Kiyoko standing beside him, elbow gently pressed against Tanaka's. “Occasionally both dreams might have some similarities, but they would never be 100% the same.”

Daichi redirected his gaze back to Kuroo, both golden and striking pale gray eyes reflecting Daichi's perplexed image in them. “Then why did we...”

“Does it matter why?” Kuroo brushed his hand on Daichi's cheek, eyes filled with tenderness before closing the mere distance between them to land a chaste peck on Daichi's forehead. “That only means that we've met each other and have been together way sooner than we've thought. I think that's great.”

“I left you guys unsupervised for a little moment and what is happening here?”

All eyes turned to the owner of the voice where coach Ukai had one brow raised in question, both hands on his hips as he waited for a good explanation. 

Daichi flinched. As the captain of the Karasuno volleyball team, he had always been the one to make sure everything was under control while preventing his teammates from achieving anything remotely foolish. But there he was, pinned on the floor by another man holding him down in a rather intimate way, face exploding red. “Uh... c-coa—”

“Coach!” Hinata poked his head above Kenma's shoulder, eyes filled with sparkles just like back when he saw Kenma a couple months ago for the very first time. “Daichi-san's soulmate came all the way from Tokyo to find him, isn't it amazing?!”

At the mention of the word 'coach', Kuroo stood up and offered a hand to Daichi who accepted it gladly, Kuroo couldn't help but notice how Daichi's biceps stretched his sleeve when flexing his arm. “Coach Ukai, it's an honour to meet you.” Hand still holding Daichi's without the tiniest desire to let go, Kuroo greeted him with a small bow. “I've heard some interesting things about you from our coach: Nekomata-sensei.”

No one missed the split second coach Ukai's eyes widened at Kuroo's words and one side of his lips quirked, humored by the whole situation. “Nekomata-sensei, huh. And that familiar red jersey hiding under your jacket... What's your position, boy?”

“Middle blocker and captain, sir,” Kuroo replied with a light tone, noticing how the word 'captain' made Daichi's hand jerk and whip his head toward him. He shot Daichi a glance— mischievous and challenging— along with a low chuckle only his soulmate could hear. Brows raised high and eyes wide, Daichi's features changed just as quickly, dark brown eyes filled with challenge and a smile that hinted nothing but absolute confidence and amusement as he held Kuroo's hand tighter. 

“Kuroo Tetsurou from Nekoma volleyball team,” coach Ukai announced with a large smug, arms folding before his chest.

It was then that Kuroo finally lifted his chin, sharp heterochromia irises peering right into Ukai's deep ambers, the overly familiar smirk back on his lips. “In person.” 

At those words, Ukai-sensei threw back his head and laughed brightly, the whole team watching their coach with a smile despite their confusion. “You've got yourself a very interesting soulmate, captain!” Ukai-sensei looked at Daichi. “Nekoma has some really good defenses and reflexes, and Kuroo Tetsurou happens to be that one player who has sharp blocking skills.” 

Kuroo couldn't help but wiggle his eyebrows at his lover while stretching that smirk of his as Daichi peered at him curiously with narrowed eyes, trying to figure out if his long awaited soulmate had indeed such amazing volleyball skills just like his coach just mentioned. Kuroo's hands were bigger than his with his long calloused fingers, he was obviously and unfortunately taller than him and definitely had more muscle built than Tsukishima. Hmph. Maybe he did have a few amazing skills.

Ukai-sensei picked up a volleyball laying next to his feet and bounced it twice in the air. “After coming all the way to Miyagi, why not practice a little with us, Kuroo? It'd be a nice practice for Karasuno too.” 

Kuroo smirked. “It'd be a great pleasure.”

“Kenma, was it?” Ukai-san turned to the blonde still lying his whole weight on Kageyama's side. “You're from Nekoma too and a setter, right? You play with us too.”

Ukai-sensei returned to the gym with satisfaction as he clapped his hands and called for his team to get back to practice in which they all followed diligently. Kenma let out a quiet long whine before turning his whole body to bury his face in Kageyama's chest, the latter reflexively wrapping his arms around his neck and patting his back while Hinata hooted excitedly around them, asking Kenma to set for him and promising to score. Kenma only slumped his shoulders even more, suddenly tugging dryly on Hinata's shirt, making the madarin fall into his arms as his own face was still buried close to Kageyama's heart. It took a little moment before the three of them still tangled together waddled their way into the gym, almost tripping on their way back under Daichi's content sight and soft smile. 

“I still don't know your last name, Daichi.”

Craning his neck, Kuroo was looking down at his soulmate with gentle eyes, dark eyelashes highlighting the light colors of his breathtaking gold and gray irises. Daichi swore he could stare into them and lose himself as well as the concept of time the more his own chocolate ones met Kuroo's.

“Sawamura,” Daichi replied hurriedly, though voice steady, heartbeat pounding just a little bit quicker, a remnant of red still clinging on his cheeks whenever his brain could barely process how Kuroo Tetsurou was his soulmate in flesh standing right before him.

Kuroo extended his arm toward him, the long hand gently closed and opened, fingers tapping his own palm twice, an open invitation directed at his one and only. “Sa’amura,” Kuroo drawled.

“Sa-WA-mura,” Daichi corrected with a squint of his eyes as his hands naturally clasped with Kuroo’s.

“Sa’amura,” Kuroo tried again with a playful grin. 

An impressive strength was applied by the hand holding Kuroo’s. “Are you looking for a fight?”

Kuroo threw his head backwards and cackled into the air, dark hair dancing with the wind. “Our first fight, how cute.”

"That smirk of yours is going to suffer when I'll beat the shit out of you." 

The corner of Kuroo's lips only raised higher in amusement, long limbs wrapped in dark jeans trailing leisurely toward the gym, fingers laced with Daichi's as he dragged him along. “Think you can get past Nekoma's finest blocker, _captain_?”

“Oh, you have _no idea_ who you are dealing with,” Daichi promised with weighted words, eyes looking straight ahead, lips curving up with excitement and determination.

Kuroo chuckled low and with his hand still holding his long awaited special person’s, he hooked it around Daichi’s shoulder, pulling him close and pressing his lips once again on his temple.

“Then let’s play, pretty boy.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kuroo then spent the night at Daichi's house because there was no way he would've made it for the last train back home when being with Daichi and so he met Daichi's parents and siblings and they were all very thrilled to know him. Kenma spent the night at Kageyama's place with Hinata and they all passed out after a night of gaming.
> 
> Visit my[ Tumblr ](http://finnthebunneh.tumblr.com) and [ Twitter ](https://twitter.com/finnthebunneh)  
> 


End file.
